Pit & Quarry, July 2012

Accident negligence findings A contractors pickup truck traveling at an indeterminate speed at dusk on a mine entrance road strikes and kills one of two mine employee pedestrians taking an exercise walk In the official accident report issued by MSHA the overview section states the following The practice of employees walking on the mine access road for exercise was a contributing factor to the accident Inadequate training also contributed to the accident The road has a posted speed limit of 40 mph The ground along the sides of the road is not in a condition that allows for traveling on foot A sign in place reads Caution Pedestrians walking on roadway 10 a m to 2 p m The company considered walking on the road good exercise However there was an incident a little more than a year before the accident when it was reported to mine management that four contractor gravel trucks were speeding when pedestrians were on the road at lunchtime On the evening of the fatal accident the two pedestrians were wearing orange safety vests with reflective striping The employees heard and saw the pickup approaching from behind and tried unsuccessfully to cross to the other side of the 24 ft wide pavement to give the truck more room to pass The truck hit one of them before they could get across The truck was traveling down a 36 percent grade over a washboard pavement surface in clear dry weather as it approached the pedestrians The pickup was in good mechanical condition The driver was familiar with the road and was not substance impaired There were no skid marks because the truck had anti lock brakes According to BY MICHAEL T HEENAN one law enforcement report there was no evidence of extreme carelessness Root cause analysis MSHA investigators conducted a root cause analysis which resulted in a few findings 1 The mines safety program did not address the practice of walking on the mine access road This was noted at the time the previously reported speeding incident was investigated by management MSHAs report states After this incident and determination mine management failed to develop such a written report 2 Experienced miner and hazard training did not include the subject of possible pedestrian traffic on the mine access road The report says Following a prior incident mine management determined that proper training was not being given to pedestrians and drivers of vehicles on the mine access road Mine management failed to revise their training practices 3 The mine access road did not have adequate signage to inform motorists using the mine access road of the possibility of pedestrian traffic in the area at any time 4 There were no separate walkways on the access road for pedestrians to walk safely along the roadway In response to these findings the company prohibited pedestrian traffic on the road and also modified all training to include the hazards associated with possible pedestrian traffic on the mine access road Unwarrantable failure To the mine operator BHP Navajo Coal Co MSHA issued a citation charging that the mines safety program did not Pedestrian and speed signs would normally mitigate against a finding of aggravated conduct In this rare case MSHA made not just one but three such findings address the hazards and procedure of walking on the mine access road Furthermore MSHA issued three unwarrantable failure orders for the following 1 The approved hazard training given to vehicle operators did not include the hazards associated with possible pedestrian traffic on the mine access road 2 Signage was not adequate to clearly warn motorists that pedestrians could be walking on the mine access road at anytime 3 The approved experienced miner training did not include the hazards associated with being a pedestrian on the mine access road The independent contractor P H Mine Pro Services whose pickup truck collided with the pedestrian was not the subject of any enforcement actions Observations These findings and charges are untested by the judicial process but they reflect how MSHA may approach an accident investigation In this case MSHA singled out the mine operator based on three notable factors 1 The mine operator allowed walking on the mine road 2 The mine operator had notice that on at least one occasion vehicles were speeding with pedestrians present Continued on page 135 30 PIT QUARRY July 2012 www pitandquarry com